MCJ AMA: Chris Higgins (City of Vancouver) & Nate Adams (HVAC 2.0, Nate the House Whisperer)
Join us in the MCJ slack for an 'Ask Me Anything' session with Chris Higgins, Senior Green Building Planner at the City of Vancouver, and Nate Adams, the ‘house whisperer’ and founder of HVAC 2.0.
Let’s meet our guests…
Meet Chris: Chris works to deliver a better future by helping houses and other residential buildings improve. He has two decades of experience helping people lower energy use. Heat Pumps, reducing drafts from uncontrolled leakage air, and reducing pollution from burning gas and oil are all solutions he works towards. As a Senior Green Building Planner at the City of Vancouver, Chris develops and implements building bylaw, policy, and incentive programs to achieve new buildings that run without fossil fuel, while at the same time helping to reduce pollution from existing homes. He works to remove barriers existing home retrofit, and possesses an understanding of regulatory and incentive options a city has at its disposal. Chris welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with people in the field leading change.
Meet Nate: Nate helps homeowners turn their house into a forever home by making it a more comfortable and healthy place to live. As a longtime HVAC insulation and sealing contractor who lives in West Virginia and describes himself as "a bit unusual in the climate community," coming from the right side of the political spectrum. He is one of home electrification's fiercest and most consistent advocates. A partner at Energy Smart Home Performance for 15 years, he’s now the founder of HVAC 2.0 and focuses on educating homeowners via his website Nate the House Whisperer.
→ MCJ Podcasts: Published on 15th November 2023, Yins’ episode with Nate is here. Published on 11th January 2024, Yin’s episode with Chris is here.
→ Want a reminder for this AMA? Add it to your calendar by registering for this event.
Our AMA with Chris and Nate will start on Tuesday 20th February at 11am PST - 2pm EST - 7pm GMT - 8pm CET and will run asynchronously in the MCJ AMA slack channel for 24 hours.
Can't make it, or want to ask a question anonymously? Submit your question here, and we'll ask it on your behalf!
In Yin’s conversation with Nate, they cover:
[04:01]: Nate's background and how he became "the House Whisperer"
[06:58]: Issues with oversized furnace design and sizing
[13:12]: Friction between conservative contractors and climate-focused homeowners
[16:32]: The importance of positioning policy rebates and savings to consumers
[24:46] How IRA performance requirements disqualify 80-85% of equipment models
[29:18]: Overview of the biggest barriers to electrifying homes
[32:06]: Upstream vs. midstream and potential of converting all ACs to heat pumps
[34:36]: Mandated heat pumps in Vancouver, BC
[38:31]: Psychology as a barrier to electrification
[41:02]: How hybrid systems can reduce fear of heat pumps for both contractors and homeowners
[47:26]: Nate's HVAC 2.0 business model improves contractor and homeowner experience
→ You can find a transcript of the full conversation here.
In Yin’s conversation with Chris, they cover:
[2:28]: Chris's background and current role
[09:12]: Vancouver's climate leadership and influence on other cities
[11:23]: What it means to be a Charter City
[15:08]: The 2022 update to Vancouver's building bylaw and shift to heat pumps
[18:29]: The smooth transition and industry adaptation to the new heating regulations
[22:22]: Balancing environmental goals with job protection
[31:20]: Potential for Vancouver's policies to influence provincial and national levels
[35:02]: The role of 'carrots', or incentives, in shaping city policies
[39:41]: The importance of economic alignment in policy success
[41:35]: Drawing inspiration from other cities and countries for urban planning
[45:46]: Vancouver's strategies for resilience against natural disasters
→ You can find a transcript of the full conversation here.
You can also learn more about Chris & Nate’s work via:
Nate being named as Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration’s ‘2023 NEWSmaker’
Jigar Shah’s view of Nate’s work in two Energy Gang podcast episodes here and here
Chris’ case study on removing a gas boiler and retrofitting an air to water heat pump on a home
How homebuilders in Vancouver are adapting to a warming world
BBC Future Planet, looking at Vancouver: The neglected clean heat we flush down the drains
Set your reminders, and get your questions read - you can ask Nate & Chris anything!
Can't make it or want to ask a question anonymously? Submit your question here, and we'll ask it on your behalf.
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